


The Message

by Vinnocent



Series: Morphing Human [2]
Category: Animorphs - Katherine A. Applegate, Being Human (UK), Being Human (US/Canada)
Genre: Animal Death, Blood and Gore, Book 4: The Message, Casual Ableism, Drowning, F/M, Familial Abuse, Gen, M/M, Medicinal Drug Use, Panic Attacks, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-04
Updated: 2014-03-06
Packaged: 2018-01-14 14:16:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1269505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vinnocent/pseuds/Vinnocent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on Book 4 of the Animorphs series, The Message, the plot is altered significantly when Cassie and Marco are the only ones who can morph to search out the Andalite sending Cassie and Tobias desperate messages. Meanwhile, Marco struggles with his lycanthropy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. At the Door (Marco)

My name is Marco.

And my life as I know it is over.

* * *

"Well?" Rachel asked proudly, hands resting on her hips. "What do you think?"

The look of horror on Jake's face didn't make me feel any better. "How did you even find this?" he demanded.

"I asked around."

"Asked who?"

" _Around_."

Cassie glanced at me, then back at them. "I don't understand. What's the problem?"

Jake looked at the floor, and Rachel rolled her eyes. "Preacher Boy is upset because this was a dog fighting cage like a decade ago. More than. But that's what makes it perfect!" she exclaimed. "We know it'll stand up."

Cassie touched the ginormous cage like she thought it would bite her. "What kind of dogs would they even put in here?"

"It's a euphemism, Cassie," I told her. "Pretty sure they're talking about werewolves." I barely suppressed a groan, My muscles have been sore all day, and I swear my bones are starting to ache.

"Why can't he go run around in the woods with the rest of them?" Jake demanded.

"Still here," I reminded him.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Did you _see_ how many dogs--"

"Type Threes," he corrected.

" _Whatevers_  there were?" Rachel demanded. "What if the Yeerks don't have them all? Trust me, we're _all_ safer here tonight. Now, please pick it open before he changes and eats us all."

"How is this being covered up?" asked Tobias, watching us from the balcony.

"Well," I explained, massaging my aching stomach, "Cassie's at Rachel's house and vice versa. I'm at Jake's house. And for some reason, Jake's trusting Tom to cover if my dad calls. Oh, and you're dead."

Tobias snapped his fingers. "Right! Thanks! I forgot!"

"If Tom covers for me in a normal family capacity, and absolutely nothing happens at the pool, then we look less suspicious," Jake explained.

"I'm afraid I can't explain everything that's wrong with that before the end of the year," I said.

"Jakey-boy!" Rachel called, motioning to the cage. "Picking time!" Maybe it was just me, but she seemed to be getting nervous, hopping on the balls of her feet.

Jake rolled his eyes but stepped forward and knelt before the door of the cage. I was itching and anxious. My heart was racing. Rachel glanced at me. "Sooner than later would be good," she muttered.

"I thought you said it wouldn't start until nightfall," I said.

"What do I look like? A kennel?" Rachel demanded.

"Less insulting," Jake reminded her.

Rachel snorted. "Look, we usually keep our distance when we're not--" She gestured at the cage. "So, no, I didn't expect to be friends with one, and I don't know what to tell you besides what I _think_ I know."

Cassie glanced nervously between us as I got the sudden feeling that someone was punching me hard in the stomach at a very slow speed. "Exactly what is the relationship between the two species?" she asked.

"I'm still human!" I shouted at her. "I was born human! I'm human ninety-seven percent of the time! This is a disease! An infection! Not a species!"

"I'm sorry," Cassie whispered, taken aback. "You're right."

"Fuck," I groaned, clutching my stomach. The punch only dug in harder.

Jake popped the door open. "There!"

My heart was racing. "I think it's starting," I moaned, and Jake was immediately at my side, helping drag me to the cage. "I don't want to do this," I muttered. "Jake, I don't want to do this."

"I know." He backed away from me but didn't leave immediately.

"Jake…" Rachel warned.

"I'm pretty sure I'll have plenty of warning before danger point," he said.

"Pretty sure?"

But Jake stayed where he was, behind but near me. I dropped to the floor on my hands and knees, unable to stand the pain any longer. "What's happening?" I demanded, my voice cracking.

"Basically the same thing as when you morph," he said. "But not designed by advanced alien scientists. I think, right now, your organs and muscles are moving into new positions and… shapes, and you're… you're feeling every second of it."

I started crying right there, on my knees in a cage in some abandoned warehouse that Rachel had found, and I was in far too much pain to care about how embarrassing that was. "Will it stop?"

Jake shrugged. "When you finish, I guess."

" _Fuck_ ," and then it was like someone was ripping into my chest, and I screamed. I was hyperventilating so hard I think I would have thrown up if everything had actually been functioning properly.

"Jake!" Rachel shouted.

He shook his head. "Not yet…"

"Jake," I hissed through my pain. "Jake, you promise me. Promise me this doesn't get back to my dad. If there's ever the slightest risk to him--."

"I know," he said.

And that was when my bones started shifting, and I screamed.

Rachel ran into the cage, pulled Jake out, and slammed the door shut behind them. She shoved him aside and shook the bars hard to check the lock.

I was exhausting quickly. I felt heavy and dizzy. My vision blurred. My chest and throat were burning. There was blood in my mouth. Pain in my ribs, my legs, my back, my chest… I couldn't breathe.

I wondered if maybe the vampires were wrong. If maybe I could die from this. Part of me was relieved at the thought. That there would be no continued risk to my friends and family. That I wouldn't have to worry about being exposed as a morpher and ruin Dad's life further. That all the responsibility could just fall away.

But, no, I couldn't do that. I had to survive. I wasn't going to leave another hole in the world if I could help it. I wasn't going to leave my father without hope, without anyone to hold him up. I wasn't going to leave my friends without backup. With Rachel's whims, Jake's conviction, Cassie's second-guessing, and Tobias's bullheadedness.

I stopped screaming. Not because things were better, but because sound had stopped coming out. My throat was changing. I looked to Jake for help. He wasn't looking at me. Behind him, Tobias was flickering in and out.

I don't remember a lot after that.


	2. Thoughtless (Cassie)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My name is Cassie. I can’t tell you the rest of my name. Or where I live. I can tell you about the Yeerks. Space aliens that look like slugs and crawl in through the ear canal and take over your brain. You become a witness to your own life. Every breath you take is taken for you. You can’t warn anyone. You can’t even scream.
> 
> Not except for a brief window of freedom every three days when the Yeerk has to feed. Then, you’re thrown into a cage with the other humans so you can scream together.
> 
> And then I see what we’ve done to our own friend, and I wonder how much better we are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, on Tumblr Tobias has a special font, but here his speech is only italicized. Note that this means that it sounds distorted to Cassie.

* * *

I couldn't watch when he transformed. I felt bad for turning away. Like the least I could do was bear witness. But it was horrifying. I don't know that I could say it was worse than what we saw in the Yeerk Pool, but it was so much more painful and so much more personal.

I couldn't shut out the screaming, though. That stopped on it's own, briefly, before turning into howls. It was so much like morphing that I felt like maybe we were doing it wrong. That we had cheated some great price.

"Wow, that is intensely uncool," Rachel noted when it was finally over.

Marco pounced against the side of the cage, roaring and snapping at her. She squeaked and dropped back behind Jake.

"We'll watch him in shifts," Jake decided, watching Marco closely as he began pacing his way around the cage, leaning against the wires. To someone else, it might have looked like he was scratching himself, but I was fairly certain he was testing for weak spots.

"Morphing suit didn't work," Rachel noticed, peeking out from around her cousin.

"Yes, thank you for pointing out the bare werewolf ass to all of us. We would have been devastated to miss it."

I looked around. "Is Tobias still here?"

Rachel turned away from the cage and from Jake. "No. He blinks out sometimes lately. Maybe he's having trouble staying rooted?"

"Is there anything we can do to help that?" I asked.

She shrugged. "It'll get better if he finds a root I think. Most ghosts have a central point of haunting. With more familiars, he'll definitely get stronger."

Jake finally looked away from the cage. "Is that necessary? People are generally meant to move on."

"Shut up," Rachel said.

He returned his attention to the cage. "Cassie, you should get the first nap. Rachel and I will watch him. If the cage is going to fail, it's going to fail early."

I nodded slowly. "Thanks, Jake. I feel really comfortable about sleeping now." But then I yawned.

Rachel glanced at Jake as Marco peed in a corner, then she lead me away to a platform that was pretty far from the cage. Three sleeping bags had been set up there. She sat next to me until I fell asleep.

Water was everywhere. All around me. But it didn't touch me.

_Someone help._

I could see fish. Sharks. Swimming around me in the dark water.

_Please listen._

I could feel the weight of the water. I could hear the creaking glass.

_I need help. I need rescue._

Desperate. I was so very, very desperate.

_I don't know how much longer I can wait._

I woke up with Tobias next to me. I could barely see him, like some hazy mirage in the corner of my eye, but I could feel him strongly. _There's something under the ocean,"_ he said.

I blinked at him. "You've been having the same dream?"

_"I don't sleep."_ He looked down at his hands. _"But every time the call goes out, I... go somewhere."_

"Where?" I asked.

He shrugged. _"I don't know. I don't think they're trying to summon a ghost."_

I pushed myself out of the sleeping bag and hurried across the room to where Jake was still watching Marco and Rachel was filing her fingernails. "Do vampires dream?" I asked.

They both looked at me like my antlers had come back. "What the hell, Cassie?" Rachel asked.

"I'm serious!" I insisted. "Tobias doesn't sleep. I want to know if vampires have dreams."

"We're not the same kind of dead!"

But Jake motioned for her to calm down. "Yes, we sleep and dream as we did before. It's not as necessary as it once was, since we don't exhaust as easily. But we do sleep, and we dream. Why?"

"What have you dreamed about lately?"

Jake shrugged and glanced back at Marco, who was sniffing at a very large, old, brownish stain. "That's kind of personal, ain't it?" Rachel asked.

"I've been dreaming about water. About someone calling out from the ocean," I told them.

Rachel shrugged in perfect duplication of Jake. "Good for you?"

Jake looked to my right. "You have?" He looked at me again, then to Rachel, who groaned and rolled her eyes upward.

"Is this about the news again?" she said.

I glanced between them. "Is this about what news?"

"He's convinced that he saw alien-ish writing on some washed up bit of something," said Rachel.

"I'm not convinced," Jake pouted. "I'm just saying metal with weird stuff on it washing up so soon after the crash…"

"A month. A month is not soon, Jake," Rachel argued.

"Do you guys know any sea monsters that call out to people?" Tobias asked, and I jumped, not only because I could hear him so well.

"Tobias, I can see you!"

"Real--?" And then he was gone again.

I frowned and looked at them. "Is he still there?" They nodded.

"There's no such thing as sea monsters," Jake said. Then he looked at me. "Cassie, how long have you been… hearing Tobias?"

I blushed. "Before the crash. But I-- I thought it meant something else then."

He glanced between the three of us. "Tomorrow, you and Marco get morphs from the sea exhibit. Whatever you think you'll need to investigate this."

"ARRROOOoo!" said Marco.

"OOOOOW!" Rachel taunted back.

Marco paced, watching her uncertainly. "ARRROOOoo! ARRROOOoo!"

"OW-OW-OOOOOOW!"

"ARROOOOooOOOOOooOOOoo!"

Rachel fell back away from the cage, giggling. I sighed deeply. "Maybe it's your turn to take a nap."

"What? No, but this is funny. I should have brought a camera," she argued. Jake glared at her, and she pouted. "Fine, I'll see what I can dream up for you."

She left for the platform, and I could feel Tobias get further away. I approached the cage as closely as I dared, no further than to stand next to Jake. Marco sniffed at us and vocalized again. I wished I knew what he meant, even though I supposed it didn't matter. He didn't seem to be himself at all anyway.

Jake's fingers tugged loosely at mine, and I turned away from the cage to give him a small smile. He didn't seem remotely reassured, though.

"GOD CAN SEE YOU!" Rachel shouted from the platform.


	3. Once Upon A Time (Cassie backstory)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 1994...

"Mom. Mom. Mom."

Michelle pushed sleepily at her husband. "Cassie's up," she muttered.

"I don't hear anything about 'Dad,'" Walter groaned.

"Moooom."

Finally, Michelle sat up, smiling at the little girl sleepily shuffling around to her side of the bed. "Hey, sweetie. Did you have a bad dream?"

She was surprised to see Cassie wiping away tears. "Mommy, there's something wrong with the cub."

"You mean for the wolf? Cassie, if she delivers tonight; it's best done without us. Wolves have been delivering without human help for…" She thought for a moment. "A very, very long time."

"But something's wrong!" Cassie insisted.

Frowning, Michelle pulled her legs out of the bed to face her daughter better. "Cassie, were you playing in the barn while you were supposed to be sleeping?"

"No!"

"Are you sure?"

"You said not to!"

Michelle rubbed her face, trying desperately to stay awake long enough to finish the conversation. "Then how do you know a cub needs us?"

"I just do, Mom! I can feel it. Please believe me!"

"Sweetie, you had a dream. A bad dream. That's all."

"No, Mom, the cub--"

"Cassie, it's just a dream. The wolf is fine. You'll see. Go to bed."

Cassie's gaze found the floor, and she blushed. "I guess you're right. Goodnight, Mommy."

"Goodnight, Cassie."

The next day, it was discovered that not only had the injured mother wolf delivered her puppies, but one had died overnight, having suffocated from a blocked air passage.


	4. Suspicious Eyes (Marco)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My name is Marco. And I’m a werewolf. I got clawed across the leg while escaping from the local Yeerk Pool on a rescue mission for my lying best friend’s not-brother. What’s a Yeerk pool, you ask? Well, it’s where Yeerks go to eat every three days, and a Yeerk is a space alien that takes over your body and the reason why I can’t share more information with you.
> 
> Aliens and werewolves. Nuts right?
> 
> You don’t know the half of it.

* * *

Cassie was busy helping her dad out in the barn with a golden eagle when I dropped by. "Hey," I said, shoving my hands in my pockets. "Don't mind me if you're busy."

"Hi, Marco," her dad greeted, grinning. "Cassie's almost done here."

Cassie pulled off her gloves as she backed away from the eagle. "Hi, Marco. Let me wash up, then we can go."

"Where are you kids off to?" asked Walter.

"We're going to the sea show at the Gardens," she told him, and he grinned at her. "With Rachel," she added. "We're going to the Gardens to see the sea show with Rachel."

I raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Cassie washed her hands and arms then promised her dad she'd be back at a reasonable hour. "I'll take real good care of your daughter, sir," I said, winking.

"Only I'm allowed to joke about that," he warned me.

"Sorry, sir." And then Cassie was pulling me out of the barn.

"Is there a reason Jake's not coming?" Cassie asked me as we walked out to the road.

I shrugged. "The V-team doesn't really need to come," I said. "They're not acquiring." I glanced at her. "You feeling anything?"

"I'm not a dowsing rod, Marco." Then, she paused. "I think I'm not a dowsing rod anyway."

Rachel and Tobias were waiting for us down by the road, talking about something. Rachel pushed her hair over her ear, and suddenly I suspected her request I fetch Cassie by myself wasn't motivated by pure cruelty. Go figure. She looked back at us. "Tobias thinks it's an Andalite."

"And that would be because?"

"The Andalites communicate psychically," said Tobias. "They also had a major orbital crash. Any discharged pods or whatever would aim for the sea. Softest landing on a planet you don't know a lot about."

"With Elfangor immediately recognizing Jake and Rach as vamps, I think we can rule out ignorance as an Andalite attribute," I said.

Rachel stiffened and stood straighter. "He died trying to save us. I know that doesn't mean anything to you, but the Andalite died trying to save Earth."

I nodded and said, "I know that. And it means plenty to me, by the way, but we can't let what we wish was true color our vision of what's actually true."

"Yeah? Well, if there _is_ an Andalite calling for help, I'm going to try and help them," Rachel insisted.

"Really?" I asked, eyebrows arching. "And since when were you champion of the swim team?"

Cassie smiled and elbowed Rachel. "Well, if Rachel's ready to go, so am I."

I rolled my eyes. "Let's go pet some dolphins."

* * *

We had seats to ourselves at the back of the bus to the gardens thanks to Rachel snarling at everybody. Tobias passed through a particularly stubborn person to make them leave. Luckily, it seemed most vampires not only avoided the daylight but also public transportation. Based on the expression Rachel made when she originally had to pass through the cluster of warm bodies, it wasn't hard to guess why.

"Jake thinks this is a psychic thing," Rachel whispered, bending toward us. "Since it's targeting Cassie and Tobias and not us."

"Agreed," I said. "And a psychic thing could be a trap. They've got vamps. They've got wolves."

"Type Ones. Type Threes," Rachel corrected, mimicking Jake.

"This is me caring so much. My point is that they could trip over a psychic. One more powerful than Cassie. I mean is that possible?"

Rachel shrugged. "We have stories. But until recently I didn't think it was a real thing. We don't really know ghost stuff anymore than we know werewolf stuff. Our groups don't mesh."

I sighed and frowned, leaning back in my seat. "Or maybe it's another alien," I guessed. "I don't know. But we can't say this _isn't_ a trap. A trap in the middle of the ocean."

"If you're going to weasel out, why are you coming to pet dolphins?" Rachel asked.

I shrugged. "Why are the two of you coming to pet dolphins? Maybe I just like dolphins."

"You called them cliche and unnecessary last time we were gathering morphs," Cassie reminded me.

I glared at the little traitor. "Thanks for the backup."

Tobias disappeared. I guess that was sort of typical.

"Look," I said, "I am willing to go check shit out for you, but I am _not_ diving head-first into _another_ battle that not any of us are prepared for. I don't care what Jake--"

"Cassie?!" Rachel cried urgently, leaning over me. That's when I saw that Cassie had passed out.

I shoved Rachel back and lifted Cassie up into a sitting position, putting  my hand in front of her nose. "She's breathing," I said. "She's just out." I looked around. "Did Tobias go out at the same time?"

"Yeah, but I don't think he's gonna be able to find the bus again when it's over," Rachel guessed.

I nudged Cassie gently. "Cassie, wake up. Wake up, please."

But Cassie didn't revive until we were almost to the Gardens, leaving me and Rachel to pretend like this was normal and insist on privacy. Leaving me to pretend like I cared about Rachel's little fashion rants.

"He's calling me again," Cassie said when she woke up. "I'm sure I heard thoughtspeach."

I scowled, and Rachel shot me a dirty look. "If you say, 'planted idea,' I'll wring you out," she threatened.

I shrugged. "Let's hope it is an Andalite," I muttered. The Gardens was emerging into view.

"Why the change of heart?" asked Cassie.

"Because if it's a fake, that fake knows we want Andalites."

* * *

We headed past the rides to the wildlife park, but it wasn't an exhibit we were looking for. "That's the end of our show, everyone," someone announced. "Say goodbye to Joey!" The crowd said their goodbyes and then shrieked with delight over something and before leaving. We tried our best to move through the flock of adults and children. "Ugh, we should have come on a weekday," I grumbled.

Cassie looked around. "Where's Rachel?"

I stopped and looked around. "Rachel?" I called, but I couldn't see her anywhere in the crowd, which should have been easy enough with the jacket, hat, and sunglasses she was wearing like she was going to go rob a bank afterward. "Maybe we should…"

"It won't take but a minute to see the dolphins," Cassie said. "It's impossible to get really lost here. Now, come on." Cassie approached the platform that surrounded the tank as a dolphin shot out of the water, creating a huge splash. "Hi, Eileen!"

"Hi, Cassie!" the dolphin trainer greeted us. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Marco. We were looking at some dolphin information on the internet," she lied, "so we thought we'd come out and see the real thing."

"Well, as you know, we have six dolphins here. Joey, currently hamming it up for fish, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Phoebe, and Rachel. Hey, you guys want to feed them a little? You start throwing fish in the water, and they'll all come over."

"It won't upset their schedule?"

"Nah. Just don't let Joey get it all. He's kind of pushy."

And then Eileen just left us with a big bucket of stinking fish. I made a face. "That is some nasty-looking fish."

"To each their own," Cassie said with a grin.

"We could  _be_  fish," I realized.

That gave Cassie some pause. But when Joey swam over to see what was taking so long with his reward, she smiled and sat at the edge of the platform. She tossed in a fish and the other dolphins showed up immediately.

"It's weird the way they grin at you," I commented. "I mean, it's like they actually think something's funny." Against my better judgement, I gripped a fish, holding it out for the nearest dolphin to see. I'd already lost track of who was who. "Hey, want a fish?"

The dolphin nodded rapidly, surprising me.

"Well, if you insist," I said, tossing the fish to it.

Cassie was frowning. "Should we be doing this?"

I was surprised by her. "I thought you wanted to go meet your instant messenger?"

"Not that," she said, tossing another fish. "I mean 'acquiring' intelligent creatures." She petted a dolphin regretfully. "They are, you know. They've passed all sorts of tests."

I knelt down next to her. "Cassie, I'm not psychic. You're gonna have to tell me what you're thinking."

She brushed hair out of her face, and I couldn't help but make a face as I thought about all the fish that hand had touched. "If we morph an intelligent animal, are we really better than yeerks?"

I frowned. "It's not the same animal. It's a new one, built for us by the technology."

"Marco, when I'm an animal, I feel its brain working. Maybe it's not the same one, but that doesn't make it not real."

I thought about that, watching as the dolphins played and joked around for fish. They watched me, looked right at me in a way most animals don't. "Okay, I see your point." I tossed another fish into the water. "But we won't know without trying, right? Let's try out the dolphins once, and if it's actually that bad, we'll find something else. If there is an Andalite under the water, it's been waiting a month. Another few days while we find the best tactic won't--"

"Guys," Tobias said, popping up behind us. "You have to come help Rachel now."

Cassie and I exchanged glances then touched the dolphins on the head quickly. As soon as I felt the morph acquired, I threw the rest of the fish in. "Where, Tobias?" Cassie demanded.

He flickered down to the bottom of the platform, and we chased after him. The instant we were off the steps, he reappeared at the far end of a path. Ahead, I heard the giggles of children. I ran as fast as I could, which turned out to be noticeably faster than I ever had in gym class. Oh, how familiar the adrenaline surge of fear has become.

Ahead on the path was a small pack of children. Just behind them was a little kid lagging behind the others, pouting. It was holding Rachel's hand, and she was walking slower and slower. Falling further behind.

They were three exhibits ahead of us when Rachel stopped and crouched. The child recoiled. Rachel tilted her head. Opened her mouth.

"RACHEL!" I seized her arm and wrenched her back. "How glad am I to find you!"

The kid burst into tears, and the idiot caretaker finally turned back to look. "What's going on?" she demanded.

"Nothing. Just loudly finding my sister," I lied desperately, pulling a confused and somewhat unwilling Rachel away from the pack of children.

"Sister? She looks nothing like you..."

"What?" I looked pointedly at tall, white, athletic, flaxen-haired, blue-eyed Rachel. I turned back to the caretaker with an Oscar-worthy load of feigned confusion."You think?"

"Well, anyway…" said Cassie, catching up and taking Rachel's other arm. "Bye!"

And then we ran like the classy morons we are. "What the hell was that?" I demanded at the bus stop.

Rachel sat on the bench and put her head between her legs. "I need Jake."

"You need some fucking help! You realize that you almost _ate_ a kid?"

Rachel threaded her fingers through her hair and made small whimpering noises. "I need Jake. Please. Let's just go to Jake."

It was the last thing I ever expected to see from the force of nature that was Rachel. "Alright, Xena. We'll go see Jake next."


	5. All the Monsters (Rachel)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My name is Rachel. That’s not the name I go by anymore. I’m not going to tell you my current identity for a lot of reasons. One of them being the alien invasion currently going on in my hometown.
> 
> They’re called Yeerks. They’ll crawl into your brain and ruin your life. You don’t really get much of a choice. You can choose if you want it there or not, and if you choose no, you get one anyway. But for three days, you have absolutely no control over anything in your life. Even your own breath.
> 
> Assuming you breathe.
> 
> Then, for a brief period while it feeds, you get to be yourself for a few hours. In a cage. Screaming for a hope that doesn’t come.
> 
> I just think it’s only fair that they should find out what it feels like to be prey.

* * *

Marco kept a tight grip on me for the entire bus ride and the walk to Jake's house. Supposedly, to anyone who asked, I was feeling ill, but in truth he was manhandling a prisoner and using himself as a barrier between me and Cassie. I don't know when he figured out that I'd never bite him. He's far too fucking clever.

Marco wrenched my arm to turn me up the walk. He was definitely still mad about the attempted kiddie snack.

"Guys," Tobias said from nearby.

I paused. Marco paused second, which was awkward and almost pulled me over. "What?" he snapped.

Tobias was sitting on top of a car. A car I didn't recognize. I looked around. "Are we at the right house?" I asked. "I don't see Tom's or Steve's or Jean's cars."

"This is Chapman's car," Tobias said.

Marco took a step back. Shot a look around. A rabbit sighting the shadow of an owl.

"Did Jake tell _anyone_ why he wasn't coming with us?" Cassie asked worriedly.

I could hear Marco's heart racing as he glanced between them. But instead of panicking, he surprised me. He took a deep breath and said, "Tobias, you need to bail. Chapman's looking for you. If you're seen helping us, it's a risk to everyone. And Cassie, go find a place to morph. It's not a good idea for you to walk home alone with vamps on the prowl and you maybe passing out. Plus, we could might need the backup."

Cassie nodded and creeped around the side of the house, trying her best to avoid the windows. Once she was hidden behind the A/C unit and Tobias had flickered away, Marco pulled me up the walk again and pounded on the door. I could hear his heart just as loudly.

I cleared my throat awkwardly. "You don't have to--"

"The fuck I don't," he growled.

I heard footsteps draw near on the other side. I felt his presence looming. I could smell the power granted by sweet, fresh blood. Marco tensed next to me, his grip hard enough to bruise a human. The door turned inward, and Hedrick Chapman stood there. "Rachel?" He glanced at Marco. "How long has--?"

"Gosh, you sure don't pay a lot of attention to your students do you?" I asked. "Where's Jake?"

"We're having a conversation."

"I need Jake."

He watched me far too long. I could smell fresh blood in him. I wanted to steal it. His gaze turned to Marco. "What did she do?"

Marco hesitated. I pleaded inwardly for him to be truthful. To understand that anything else would quickly be uncovered. He has no idea of the depth of this man's experience. "She tried to eat a kid at the Gardens," Marco finally answered.

Chapman glowered down at him. "What were you doing at the Gardens?"

"Dolphin show." Marco pulled a ticket out of his pocket with his free hand to show him.

"That hasn't been used," said Chapman.

"Well, Rachel tried to eat a kid."

He glanced between us again, measuring our truthfulness. "Anyone dead?"

"No," we answered together.

"Any witnesses?"

"It would have just looked like a couple kids being stupid," said Marco.

"Why would you two be at the zoo together?"

"Cassie invited both of us," I snapped urgently. "Gotta keep up appearances. Hedrick, _please_."

With a sigh, he stepped back and gestured for us to enter, I wrenched my arm out of Marco's grip hard enough to hurt the both of us -- though I'd heal almost immediately -- and ran straight for the kitchen, where I smelled Jake and blood. There was a wine glass of it in front of him, as there always was when Hedrick had a point to make. Jake never would drink it.

I skidded to a stop at Jake's side. I gripped his arm, begging. He glanced at me only briefly. I took the glass from in front of him and downed it eagerly. "Better?" he asked, eyes on Marco and Chapman. Expression cold.

"Yes," I whimpered, setting the glass down again.

"He left the bottle on the counter."

I saw it and immediately moved toward it.

"Pour it down the sink."

I hesitated. The thought shook me. One glass wasn't enough. One child couldn't have even been enough, and he honestly expected me to just pour out a whole bottle?

Yes, of course he did. And I would. Because he was good, and I was bad. And the bad must look to the good or be lost.

So I did. I barely kept from crying as the blood ran down the drain, completely wasted. I had to turn away.

"That wasn't necessary," said Chapman.

"We appreciate your help, Hedrick," Jake said. "We always have. And I look forward to continuing an amicable relationship." I gave Jake the bottle, and he slid it across the table to Chapman. "But this is a bloodless house. They're all always bloodless houses."

"You say that," Chapman said, "and yet, somehow, the longer you two persist, the more work I have to do. Training. Burying. Covering up." He spread his hands. "Come where you belong. Where an eye can be kept on you. Where your needs can be managed. Where you can be well fed without a risk to humanity."

Jake stood and stared Chapman right in the eyes. "My answer hasn't changed in eighty years. I have no reason to change it now."

"And who else must be sacrificed in the name of your denial? Innocent children, Jacob? Hasn't she taken enough?"

Jake raised his chin. "You can leave now."

"You will change your mind."

"So I've heard."

Without another word, Chapman turned and passed by an anxious Marco. Eventually, we heard the door and relaxed immediately. Jake didn't, though. He stormed around the side of the table, grabbed me by the collar, and pulled me into the hall, where he shoved me into the bathroom, locking the door after me. "You have two hours to come off it, Rachel, and so help me if that kid's parents come looking for you--"

He left the threat unsaid because it wasn't much of one. If they came looking for me, then he and I would take off again, leaving Marco, Cassie, and Tobias on their own. Nothing we haven't done so many times before.

I curled up in the tub and let my head rest against the cool tile, trying to calm down, but all I could think about was the remnants of blood in my mouth and throat and how badly I wanted more. I found myself suckling on my own wrist as Jake and Marco argued in the kitchen. It was a stupid old habit that does nothing to help, and I pulled my hand away.

<Rachel?>

I jerked and looked around until I saw a tiny mouse in the middle of the tiled floor. "Cassie?" I whispered. "You shouldn't be in here," I said.

<Are you okay?> she asked, demorphing steadily.

"I'm starving, Cassie. You really have to get out, or… or I could…"

<No,> she said. And then, "You won't."

"Cassie, you don't know what you're talking about."

But she crawled over to my tub, reached in, and held my bloody hand. "I know that you would never hurt one of us. It doesn't have to be just you and Jake anymore. You're not alone anymore."

"You're wrong," I cried. "You're so wrong." But still, I didn't let go of her hand. We sat like that, whispering quietly as my desperation slowly and painfully ebbed, until Jake finally stopped arguing long enough to hear us and threw the door open. For a second, I thought he'd fang out and scare her, and I really didn't need racing hearts right now.

But his expression softened with realization. He even sort of smiled. "Are you okay?" he asked, concern finally breaking through the anger.

I shrugged. "Ish."

He nodded. "Can you handle the beach?"

"I think I've had enough sunlight today," I told him honestly.

He nodded. "Then I'll take them. You rest up."

"You say that like we need an escort," Marco's voice grumbled from somewhere behind him.

"You do," Jake said, leaving no room for argument. "Especially if it's not an Andalite."


	6. Adventures Under the Sea (Tobias)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My name is Tobias. I’m dead. That’s really the only important fact about me. Before I died, I was no one. And now I’m part of a very small group of guerrilla fighters against an alien invasion.
> 
> So… Things work out, I guess.

* * *

There was water. Me in the midst. Called forth by need. But I couldn't find him. Where was he?

There. A dome. Help. He needed help.

I was standing by a river, Jake gathered with Marco and Cassie. Everyone was tense. I wasn't not sure why. I suppose I'd missed something.

"I'll keep time," said Jake. "We'll have to hope that Tobias can run communication between the two of us. But if it goes too long without you hearing from him, you need to understand that you're cut off from us."

I looked around. The river was lined with trees most of the way. There were docks here and there to fish or boat from. Half a mile away the river emptied into the ocean. It was a better spot for morphing than a beach crawling with Controllers.

"Anything else, Fearless Leader?" Marco grumbled hotly.

Jake held out an empty backpack. "Clothes in the bag."

Marco and Cassie exchanged glances, then looked away, blushing. After a moment's hesitation, they started stripping off their outer clothing, down to the morphing outfits. Marco had had to replace his usual set of t-shirt and bike shorts after a werewolf tore through the previous ones.

A werewolf that was him.

Marco shoved his clothes at Jake. They were definitely mad at each other. Cassie looked up at the sky as she handed her clothes to Jake. He started folding the clothes as they waded into the river.

Cassie's skin turned grey and rubbery. Marco's fingers melted together, and his arms shortened. Jake leaned over the rails of the dock. "Hey." They looked back up at him. "Be careful." Marco nodded stiffly before falling into the water. Cassie gave him a small smile.

In a matter of minutes, two dolphins cut through the water. Jake glanced at his watch. "Can I ask you a question?" I said, waiting next to him.

Jake glanced around to check that we were still alone. "Of course," he said. He smirked as he said it. Like it was a joke. Like he couldn't understand why anyone wouldn't trust him, even after he'd just sat down for a conversation with Chapman. After he'd left Rachel crying in his house to push forward with the mission.

But I was in the water again. No, not in the water. Under the water. It was above me. Around me. Separated by glass.

There was grass under my feet. No, not grass. I bent down. It was like grass, but it was bluish. It was also weak and sparse. I could see metal floor grates in the balding spots. In front of me were trees that looked like broccoli and others that looked like orange or blue asparagus.

And then I turned. There he was. The Andalite under the ocean. He looked tired. Desperate. He was concentrating on something.

I went over to him. I tried to touch him. I'd gotten better at touching things. But my hand went right through him. He shivered.

<Ca-- --got-- AH>

He opened his eyes. For a second, the briefest, cruelest second, I thought he saw me. But he looked right through me.

<Whe-- --gr-->

He stood quickly. He looked toward the ocean above him. <Hello? Hello, please! I am down here! I require help!>

<\--old-- --us-->

My friends. Something was happening. If they were using thoughtspeak openly, then they weren't being careful. A lack of carefulness, especially from Marco, was a bad thing.

The Andalite reached toward the ceiling of the massive dome. <I'm here. l am here. I cannot survive much longer.>

"Please," I begged futilely. "Let me help. Tell me what you need."

<\--ca-- --if-- --u-->

<If you hear me… come. Please.>

Everything was fading. My vision went in and out like a television that was mistuned. I felt like the ground was slipping out from under me. I knew I was flickering again.

<If you hear me…>

I reached out. Tried to touch him. Affect him. Reassure him. Promise him.

<Come?>

When I was collected again, Jake was pacing the dock. "Where the fuck have you been?" he demanded.

"Under the water. The Andalite called me again," I said. I looked at the wood paneling beneath my feet. "I don't think he meant to."

"We don't know it's an Andalite, and--"

"We do now," I said. I glared at him, wanting him to understand my certainty. "I was called down to his dome. An environment under the sea. I think maybe it was built for space. It's not holding up well. And he's there, Jake! He's--"

"That's fucking fantastic. I haven't heard from our friends _in an hour and a half_!"

I blinked at him. "I was gone an hour and a half?"

"Yes! Any longer, and they're dolphins forever, according to what the Andalite told Cassie!" He was flipping out. His face and words were angry, but I could see the tension now. The nervous pacing. Helpless, coiled up energy. He jabbed a finger in the direction of the ocean. "GO! Tell them to come back NOW!"

I nodded and concentrated on Cassie. Finding someone in the water is hard. Ghosts seem to need the ground. Or my ghostliness does, anyway. But I found her. I found her, still a dolphin, with a demorphed Marco hanging off her side, spluttering water, surrounded by bloody water. Chunks of meat drifted away or were tugged at by fish.

"What the hell happened?" I asked, sitting on Cassie's back and carefully not touching the water. She was the only grounding I had out here.

"The absolute least amount of fun ever," Marco snapped. "Maybe. I haven't decided. Werewolf transformation or being eaten by sharks? It's a stumper."

"Cassie has less than a half hour of morph time left. You two need to get back immediately."

"Why didn't you check in before now?!" Marco all but screamed at me.

<Marco, it's okay. That's plenty of time to get back,> Cassie reassured him. <But I need you to morph now, okay?>

Marco made a noise of disgust, but he started morphing, eventually taking a deep breath and sliding off her side when he could no longer hold on.

"I'm sorry, Cassie. I should have been here sooner."

<It's okay. I heard him, too. I almost wasn't able to help Marco. I think he's mad about that.>

<You _think_? >

<If you're done morphing, I'm going to swim back now,> she told him.

<Okay. I think I'll just stay here and play with the sharks some more.> Of course, he didn't. He bulleted for the river. Cassie took off after him without really thinking, tossing me off.

By the time I pulled myself together, they were drying off and talking to Jake.

"So water isn't good for ghosts," I explained.

Jake rolled his eyes. "Wonderful." He pinched his nose. "How the fuck are we going to do this?"

"I don't know," Cassie admitted. "But so much has happened today…"

"We need a rest, man. Time to regroup." Marco thumped Jake once on the shoulder, then took his backpack. "Let me know when you have a non-sharkbait plan."

Jake leaned on the railing and looked down the river toward the bay. "Yeah…"


	7. In the Tower (Cassie backstory)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> earlier that year (1996)…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, the indistinct ghost voices can only be indicated by italics. If you read on morphing-human.tumblr.com, they will have their own font.

_"I know!"_

Cassie buried her head in her hands.

_"Mr. Tidwell, call on me! I know!"_

She looked around the class at the confused students, some of which were flipping through their books for the answer. Others just stared ahead in boredom or whispered to each other.

_"Pythagor--"_

"Pythagorean theorem?" asked T'Shondra.

"Right you are, T'Shondra!" Tidwell said happily.[[MORE]] "By Pythagorean theorem, we know that the square of the hypotenuse…"

The bell rang, and Cassie grabbed her bag and ran out as fast as possible. She didn't care who stared.

_"Hey ugly!"_

_"Oh my god, who let your face outside?"_

Cassie tried to get through the crowd as quickly as possible.

_"I can't find him! Where is he? Has anyone seen my brother?"_

_"I'm going to be late for the game..."_

Cassie ran into the girl's bathroom and slammed the stall door behind her and dropped her backpack on the floor. She sat on the toilet and tried to gather her thoughts.

Her hand drifted to the hip pocket of her overalls, where her prescription bottle remained. She wasn't supposed to carry it around the school. She was supposed to take it straight to the nurse's office, to take it with permission and under supervision. But she hadn't gone there yet. She wasn't sure that she wanted to.

The door of the bathroom swung open again, and Cassie heard footsteps, stopping in front of the sinks. "Tobias, this is the girls' room."

_"There's not anyone else here,"_ a voice returned.

Cassie started getting anxious. Did someone else hear them, too? Was actually interacting with them?

_"I just want to know why they aren't talking to me."_

Cassie could barely hold back rapid breaths. Her chest felt tight, and she knew that her heart was racing.

"I dunno, kiddo. It's middle sch-- wait."

Cassie leaned forward to the door crack, trying to see. Desperate to see who else heard it, she looked out. It wasn't enough. Bravely, she opened the stall door.

But no one was there.

Cassie's hands found her pocket again. Maybe they were right about her. Maybe she couldn't handle this on her own.


	8. Let's Go Down Below (Cassie)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My name is Cassie. And I’m an Animorph. We were just kids in the wrong place and time who ended up fighting the Yeerk invasion of Earth. Three of us are dead (one more so than the other two). Two of us are humans, given the power to morph by a dying Andalite.
> 
> And then there’s Ax…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, Tobias's voice is distorted to Cassie. On the tumblr, it has its own font, but here it is in italics.

* * *

"So, here's what we know," said Jake as we all clustered around in Rachel's room. "An Andalite is trapped underwater in a dome designed for space. Rachel has assured us that that is a bad thing. We know for sure that it's an Andalite, because Tobias met him. However, there's still a remote chance of methods of trapping we haven't thought of, so we need to stay careful."

"On top of that there's two big boats out there right now under two different covers," Marco explained. "A treasure hunter and a deep sea explorer. Yeerk covers. Tobias spied for us and has confirmed known Controllers on both boats. A human onboard the deep sea explorer was referred to as 'Visser Three'."

"Luckily, I think I can locate the Andalite based on information I was given from the whale Marco and I saved from the sharks," I said.

Everyone nodded, but no one met my eyes. It took an entire two seconds before Jake lifted his hand of his mouth and snickered. I hate to be nasty toward my own friends, but… I really didn't like him. "Thanks for the support."

Rachel was poorly suppressing a massive grin. "Our lives have gotten a bit weird, haven't they?"

"You're just now noticing that?" asked Marco. "How old are you?"

"Ni--"

Jake reached over and put a hand over Rachel's mouth. Everyone got sort of quiet again and stared at them. Jake hesitated, then removed his hand. "Sorry. Instinct."

"Ninety-two," Rachel answered, watching Jake. "I'd been thirteen for three weeks when I…" She trailed off.

"So Cassie's been over the maps," Jake interrupted. "We think we know where the Andalite is."

"The problem," I said, "is that it's too far out to swim and still have any time left on the limit."

Marco seemed to perk up. "Well, that's the ball game, isn't it?"

"I had an idea, though," said Rachel. "When they told me. We could sail out. Sneak you guys in morphs maybe. We don't have real attachments. The Andalite is too important to let fall into Yeerk hands. It's worth the minor risk."

Marco shook his head. "Yeah, except if you get caught they'll ask 'Hey, who's been hanging out with these two the past couple years? Maybe we should talk to them. See if anything was said. Hell, let's just shove a Yeerk in their ear; it's easier.' And then we lose our freedom, and the Yeerks gain two more morphers."

"You're saying we shouldn't?" Tobias demanded, becoming even more solid.

"I'm saying that one or two individuals do not get to decide what is suitable risk for the rest of the group," Marco snapped, gesturing in Rachel's direction. She slapped his hand away, and he glanced at her, then at Jake, then at me. "And I'm saying because of that you'd better be fucking careful, because I'm not ready to sacrifice my life for the greater good. Not today."

"Maybe we should vote on it?" I suggested.

Marco rolled his eyes. "We know exactly how that will go. Rachel's gung-ho. Jake is the hardened commander. Tobias will do anything for our blessed savior. You're not sure your opinions are valid in the face of strong pushing, and I don't see the point of fighting when out numbered, and I'm not going to sit out and let all of you risk everything that's in your brains by yourselves."

"That's not true," I objected.

Jake nodded. "Alright a vote, then. What does everyone say?"

Tobias looked at the floor. Rachel kicked her legs. Marco raised an eyebrow. I wasn't brave enough to speak up. Jake looked between us, sighed, and rubbed his nose.

Rachel clapped her hands together. "Alright, then. Let's do it!"

Marco shook his head and glared at Jake. "How are you going to get a boat?"

Jake grinned mischievously. "Give us an hour, then come down to the river."

\-- --

Seagull morphs were… distracting. Pizza this. French fry that. But once we found Jake and Rachel's boat, it was better. There was a normal amount of food out on the water, and it took effort to get.

<I didn't know you could rent your own boat at thirteen,> I said.

They exchanged glances. Jake rolled his eyes, and Rachel grinned up at me, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "You can't, but you can tell a pervert how much you just adore going out on the water… where there's privacy."

I really did not know my friends very well. <Sorry I asked.>

"Why?"

<Where is he?> Marco demanded. He sounded angry. <Didn't you think about him reporting it?>

"Yes, we did," Jake explained patiently. "Which is why he's locked up below. In the end, it'll be written off as another of Rachel's pranks."

<Another?> I asked.

"I like perverts," she admitted, shrugging. "They're fun to scare and easy prey."

Beside the boat, sleek gray shapes sliced through the water, up, down, up, down through the surface of the water. A school of dolphins. At least we hadn't been out of place earlier.

"How much time do you have on your morph?" asked Jake.

<We started morphing at two fourteen,> I told him.

He checked his watch. "You've got about half of it left. Let's get out further before you change back."

Rachel looked out over the water and the dolphins. "It must be nice. To be so comfortable in water."

<Yeah, just you and the sharks,> Marco said darkly.

Rachel glanced up at us, perched on the roof of the little below deck entry… thing. "It's still cool."

"There's a ship up ahead," Jake announced.

_"Yup,"_ Tobias agreed, suddenly appearing as a vague and disturbing cloud to my seagull's eyes. _"It's a container ship called Newmar. It's from Monrovia. You want to know what color the captain's hair is?"_

I'd have grinned at him if I could, though both Marco and Jake called him a show-off. <Got your sea legs back?> I asked his hazy, flickering image.

_"Ships are much easier to sit on than dolphins,"_ he said, _"but it takes a lot of energy. I think I need ground below me."_

I nodded my birdie head. <Maybe all that effort is why I can almost see you.>

He glanced up at me. _"Shit... I have no idea if that's good or not,"_ he admitted.

<I think it's okay. Even when we lose you for a bit, you always come back,> I reassured him. <But you can always bail to solid ground if you want.>

He shook his head. _"No, I want to meet the Andalite,"_ he said.

Jake turned toward us. "We should be there in about an hour. Can you wait that long, Tobias?"

_"We'll see."_

The trip out wasn't too bad. Boring though. The dolphins didn't stay with us. I watched the sea part around us.

<You're not a bad sailor,> Marco said at last. <When did you learn?>

For some reason, Jake ignored him. He just kept looking out over the water and adjusted the steering minutely. Rachel elbowed him teasingly. "I learned from Jake."

<Jake?> I asked.

"G taught me," he said quietly. "When I was little. And when he came back. Before he knew." He adjusted the steering again. I think maybe it didn't really need adjusting.

After a while, he looked up toward the Newmar. "Now's as good a time as any." He glanced up at me. "You're sure that you can find it?"

<No. But we only have so many chances.>

Marco and I fluttered off our perches, hiding from the view of the Newmar as we  demorphed. When my legs grew first, shooting my inflating bird body back into view, Rachel pulled on a rope, hitting me in the back with the boom. It was painful and knocked the air out of me but kept me out of view. Wings became arms, and my beak became my lips. The last thing was the feathers, which pressed down into my skin, leaving a momentary feather-print tattoo.

As soon as I was myself, I started morphing again, focusing on the image of the dolphin. My face stretched out in front of me. My legs webbed together into a tail. Marco was only just finishing his pigeon morph. I guess I was a bit better at morphing than him.

Once I was mostly dolphin, Rachel and Jake came over and hauled me over the side of the boat. I must have been four hundred pounds, but they just picked me up and shoved me over. A minute later, Marco joined me. <Well, that was fun,> Marco said sardonically. <Let's never, ever do it again.> He kicked his tail and swam away from the boat. <Cassie?>

I tried to relax, to let my human mind recede just a little. I needed to listen to the dolphin instincts to understand the whale's instructions. <Not far,> I said. <We're just a few… um… Forget it, there's no word for it. Just believe me, we're close.>

We traveled near the surface for a while, which was a bit confusing because whales go deeper. Yet… I knew I was going in the right direction. My echolocating clicks painted murky, half-understood pictures in my mind of underwater hills and valleys and rifts. I felt currents tugging at me. I sensed changes in water temperature.

<Okay, Marco, we need to surface and get a good lungful. We have a deep dive now,> I said.

The water broke over our backs and we blew out stale air. <Cassie! Helicopter!>

<What?> I couldn't see well with my dolphin eyes, but as it continued flying closer, I saw that it was dragging something along. <What is that?>

<A sensor? They're looking for something in the water.>

<Yeerks.>

<No, Santa's checking the naughty list for the all the little fishies.>

I felt ill. <Let's go. Breathe deep.>

We dove and swam almost straight down. Away from the light. Away from the air that we needed just as much as humans did. Down, we headed. Down until we could see the ocean floor beneath us.

We leveled off and skimmed across the ocean floor, like low-flying jets racing at treetop level. Over waving fields of seaweed. Through darting schools of fish. Over jutting extrusions of rock encrusted by barnacles and home to a thousand bizarre crabs and lobsters and urchins and worms.

Ahead was a ridge, a sort of long, low hill. We sailed over it.

<Cassie, my lungs are itching. How much farther?> Then, <Nevermind.>

It was covered by a transparent dome. Clear glass or plastic or whatever it is the Andalites used. And within the dome, protected from the crushing force of the water, was what looked very much like a park.

A park, in a plastic dome, at the bottom of the ocean.

There was grass, more blue than green, but it still looked like grass. There were trees like huge stems of broccoli. And other trees like orange and blue asparagus spears. At the center was a small lake of crystal-clear blue water. From the water grew fantastic, transparent green crystals in shapes like eccentric snowflakes.

<Whoa. Cassie… Is that it?>

<I've had dreams… Flashes… But… This…>

<Is that a hatch down there?> asked Marco. <The part that sticks out.>

<My lungs are burning. We'll have to try it.>

We dove quickly. Only as we approached did we realize how big the dome was. Big enough to play the Super Bowl in. Bigger than that, I think.

There was definitely a hatch. It opened into a little room that would then open into the dome. We could see it all through the glass. Or plastic. Or whatever. There was a red panel by the door.

Marco and I exchanged nervous glances. Well, I expect it was nervous glances. Really, they were unreadable dolphin glances, but I'm sure mine was nervous, so I hoped that his was. Marco pressed his beak to the panel.

The outer door opened, and we swam in. I hit a second red panel and the door slid closed.

For a moment… nothing happened.

<I knew we'd end up in an aquarium sooner or later,> Marco joked, but I could sense tension in his words. He was trying not to panic, trying to make sure I didn't panic either.

The water began to drain away from the room, and I surfaced, taking in precious fresh air. Marco surfaced next to me. <We should morph,> he decided.

<Yes,> I agreed. By the time the room was drained, we were standing on our own feet.

"We made it," Marco gasped. He looked around. "But where did we make it to?" The two of us stood there nervously in our soaked morphing outfits. He glanced over at me, and immediately glanced away. "Are you ready?"

I nodded and pressed my hand to the last red panel, on the opposite side. The door slid open and a wave of warm, fragrant air rushed in.

Then a flash of bright light.


	9. A Weird Thing Happened (Ax)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My name Aximili-Esgarouth-Isthill. I am an Andalite. I am an aristh in the war against the spread of the Yeerk plague. My brother is a great hero. He commanded me into the Dome of the ship. I do not know what has become of him.
> 
> But whatever things are, we must face them with faith. This is something that my brother has said.

* * *

There were two of them. Bipedal, like Gedd, but slightly better balanced. They had very little fur, except on their head, where each had much fur but in very different textures from each other. Their skin was two different shades of brown. They wore what I recognized from school to be a sparse amount of artificial skin.

I thought they might be human. A human was likely to be a human-Controller. But neither could have morphed the swimming creature that had entered the hatch of the Dome. What I saw… What I saw was dangerous and confusing. And there was only one way to get answers.

The darker one woke first. It rolled its head around, confused. First, it saw it's partner. Then, it saw me. Then, it made loud noise.

<Do not move,> I instructed it. <I stunned you to see what you are. But if you move, I will destroy you.> I kept my Shredder pointed at it.

Its parter woke up, making a grunting noise before seeing me. "What the… Oh." It's eyes grew slowly large. "Please tell me that's a real Andalite and not Visser Three."

I might have acted rashly, but I could not stand such an insult! I struck my tail forward, stopping the blade the shortest of breadths from the smaller one's face. <Visser Three! Do not speak that name!>

"O-o-o-o-kay," it said slowly. "Whatever you want."

"We are friends," added the first.

Friends? <l don't know you,> I pointed out. But I withdrew my tail. The offensive one drew in a deep breath.

"You called me," the first one accused. "We've come to help you."

<Called? You heard my call?> These words were impossible. I did not understand. <What are you?>

"Human. A person of Earth."

<l have seen images of your kind,> I said. <My call was to my cousins. How did you hear it?>

"I don't know. I heard it in my dreams. So did a friend. We guessed it was an Andalite. We wanted to help."

<What do you know of Andalites? My people are not known to humans. You do not travel the stars. You know only your own planet. My elder cousins have taught me this.>

"We knew one Andalite. We were with him when… when he was killed."

My suspicions were about to become confirmed. They had mentioned Visser Three. They had morphed. And now they were being vague. <Who was this Andalite you say was killed?> I said coolly.

Its mouth opened and then closed. It turned its head as though trying to catch a sound. "Prince Elfangor," it said at last.

How… _HOW DARE IT?_

<Who gave you that name?!> I demanded.

"It's the name we--"

<Just now, I saw! You received instruction from another party!>

"No! I mean yes! But it's not what you think!" My tail found its throat, and it put up its hands up, eyes wide. The other crouched, eyes darting. "No, Marco, don't!" It looked at me with its big eyes. "Please… I know it sounds insane, but… We must not be the only culture in the galaxy that believes in life after death?"

It took me a moment to realize what she meant. I was insulted to be given such a foolish story. <You try to tell me that you are instructed by the dead?>

"No! Sort of… It's complicated. Look, I know I have no proof, but he is right there. Tobias remembers better than any of us. He feels harder than any of us. I don't know why, but it's true. All of it is true."

I know that I should not have believed it. But… somehow… <Do not look away. Do not receive instruction from another. Tell me yourself, if you were there… Who do you claim killed Elfangor?>

Its face twisted. I believe it was attempting to express emotion. "You said not to say his name," it whispered.

My tail sagged. I lowered my weapon. <Did my brother die well?>

"Your--? Oh."

I felt another chill and stepped aside. The one called a Marco glanced to the place where I had stood, then at me. "He struck with every weapon he had," the Marco told me. "He wasn't even sure he trusted us, but he gave us the power to defend ourselves, to protect our families. He died making sure we were protected."

No. No, it couldn't be true. Not him. Not my brother. He'd never betray us.

I stepped back. <Defend yourselves? With what weapons?>

It shrugged. "The power to morph."

The horror struck me deep in my bones. I couldn't believe the words it said. <Elfangor gave you that? It is never done! The situation would have to be very bad for him to give you morphing capability!>

"It is," said the first one. "Worse than you think. Wreckage has washed ashore. Yeerks are on the surface now trying to detect you."

I didn't know what to do. It was wrong. This was wrong.

But…

I couldn't stay here. And I had no plan of my own.

<What is your plan?>

"To get you out of here and hide you."

<You came only to rescue me? This is true?>

"Yes."

I smiled. I was… relieved. Trusting, despite my better instinct. <You will be tired after this last morph. You will need to rest.>

"A little while, yes."

"I'm Marco," said the Marco. "This is Cassie. The ghost you have no reason to believe in is…" He looked around. "Gone? Okay, but when he was here, he was Tobias."

My stalk eyes detected no difference from when they claimed there had been a "ghost" present. <Is it common among your people to have imaginary friends at your stage of development?>

The Marco changed its facial contortion. "No."

<Well… I am Aristh Aximili-Esgarouth-Isthill.>

The Cassie pulled its feet up to its rear, somehow appearing more comfortable in the awkward knot it formed. "What is this place? I mean… it's like a park or something. How did you end up here?"

<It is the main part of an Andalite Dome ship. It is where we live. The engines and the war bridge are in a long section that sticks out from the bottom, with this dome perched on top.>

"Like a mushroom or an umbrella?"

I had no idea what this meant.

"Nevermind."

I continued to explain, <During the great battle in orbit over your planet, the dome was separated from the rest of the ship, and I with it.>

"Why?" asked the Cassie.

I pawed at the sparse grass. There were few nutrients left to comfort me. <I… I was too young for battle, by the laws of our people. Besides, the rest of the ship maneuvers better without the dome. If the battle had succeeded, they would have retrieved me.>

The Marco tilted his head, inspecting me with dark eyes. "You're a kid? I mean, like, a young person?"

<Yes.>

"Are you the only one left? The only Andalite here?" The Marco sounded… I don't know. But I know how I felt. I felt the truth. I felt the past month of pointless effort.

<Yes. I am alone. When the Blade ship appeared unexpectedly, they caught us off-guard. I saw the main section burn. Dracon beams damaged the orbital stabilization of this dome. It fell. It splashed into the ocean and sank to the bottom. I have been here for these many weeks, hoping that my cousins would come for me. Hoping that some survived. Finally, I risked sending out a mirrorwave call. It works by…> I realized who I was speaking to. Stupid! Foolish! I had done too much already! <l am not supposed to explain Andalite technology. My brother will… He would have been angry with me.>

"Just you survived," the Cassie said.

<Just me. No prince. No warriors.>

The Cassie appeared… disappointed, I think. But it smiled. "We're young, too. Too young to fight, according to the laws of our people."

That surprised me. <But still you fight!>

"When we have to," said the Marco. "Because we have to. Because no one else can. No one else knows."

<Just the two of you?> I asked, unable to suppress my awe.

"There are five of us," said the Cassie, "but the others can't morph. It was up to us to come down here."

<They did not meet my brother?>

"We were all there. Though he only met four of us, for obvious reasons," said the Cassie. She shook her head back and forth. "I'm sorry. I'm not making much sense."

"It's Cassie, me, and Tobias, and Jake and Rachel," said the Marco. "Elfangor saw no more of Tobias than you have. He met Jake and Rachel, but they're… technically dead, too. Vampires." It waited, watching me, but the word meant nothing. Finally, he moved his shoulders and changed his facial contortion again. "He seemed to understand what that meant. I thought maybe you did. Maybe it was military snooping or some--"

<This is the first time Andalites have been to your planet. Our intelligence on your planet comes from our scans, your broadcasts, and intelligence stolen from Yeerks.>

The Marco's face changed yet again. Humans appear to rely on their facial contortions a lot for communication. "Weird. Well… Point is, we've got two more friends waiting up top that can't morph but are helpful."

<Our intelligence says that humans are… delicate.>

"Well, like I said. Vampires."

<Their lack of morphing capability is not a hindrance?>

"Rachel took down a Hork-Bajir with her bare hands."

Some of these words were beginning to coalesce into information, but that information only lead to more questions. <Then why would you call them 'dead'?>

"That's…" It shook its head. "Okay, you know what? They can explain themselves. That's not my job."

"This dome is amazing," the Cassie said, changing our subject. "It's like actually being on another planet. Is this part of the Andalite world?"

<Yes. We take our home with us into space,> I said. <It angers the Yeerks.>

The Marco's contortions deepened slightly. "Why do they care what you take into space?"

I was surprised by his question. The answer seemed obvious. <It is part of everything they hate and would destroy if they could. The Yeerks would take our world and make it as barren as their own. As they will to your planet unless they are stopped.>

The humans looked to each other and then to me. "Wha… what are you saying?" said the Cassie. "What do you mean about making the planet barren?

I looked to her somewhat more directly, to show that I was serious. If she did not know, then she should. <The usual Yeerk pattern. Once a planet is under their control, they alter it to suit their own desires. They will leave enough plant and animal species to keep the host bodies fed - humans in the case of Earth - and the rest they eliminate.>

I looked toward the sea above us, but it continued, "Wait, wait. I don't think I understand you. What do you mean, they eliminate species?"

One of my eyes returned to the Cassie. <They eliminate them,> I repeated. <They will make Earth as much like the Yeerk home world as possible. They will destroy most of the plants and all of the animal species except those they eat.>

The Cassie shook its head, backed away from me somewhat. The Marco looked at it with what I perceived to be confusion. "No," the Cassie insisted. "That can't be. You're just saying that because you don't like Yeerks."

I narrowed my eyes and diverted much focus to the two of them, reevaluating them. <Don't you know? Don't you know whom you're fighting?>

The Marco shrugged. "They take over people's minds. They enslave species."

<Yes. And that is one of their great crimes. But the Yeerks are more than that. Yeerks are killers of worlds. Murderers of all life. Hated and feared throughout the galaxy. They are a plague that spreads from world to world, leaving nothing but desolation and slavery and misery in their wake.>

The Cassie appeared upset. Confused.

<There are only three races left in all the known galaxy that still fight the Yeerks. And only the Andalites can stop them.>

The Cassie took a deep shaking breath. Finally, it asked, "How long until your people return to Earth?"

<One of your years. Maybe two.>

"Two years!" The Marco shouted. "We can't hold them off that long! Five kids and… and something like _that_?"

I thought, then, about what they had said. About our positions. About their need. <Six,> I corrected.

"Six?" The Marco repeated. "Oh, I guess we're good then. No problem with six."

"How did this even happen?" asked the Cassie. "How did they get this far?"

<l am forbidden to tell certain things.>

The two turned their heads to look at each other. "I… think I'm ready to morph again," said the Marco, pulling himself to his feet.

The Cassie nodded. "We don't have a lot of time."

They started toward the hatch when the Marco paused and turned back to me. "Stupid question… Can you swim? Like… through that?" It jabbed a shorter digit in the direction of the water surrounding us.

<I would not swim in this body. I would morph a sea creature.>

"Like what? We have to travel far and fast."

<I have acquired a creature from this ocean. It was a large creature who swam close one day. I stunned it and acquired it. I thought it would be useful if I was to escape.>

The Cassie was not satisfied. "What kind of animal? What did it--" But it hesitated. It looked up. I turned one of my eyes upward and saw an elongated shadow above us. "That's a ship. Up there. I think it's stopped."

"It's too big to be Jake and Rachel," the Marco grabbed the Cassie. "Let's move."

PING-NG-NG! PING-NG-NG!

"Sonar!" the Marco cried, and the word meant nothing to me. They were running now to the hatch I had moved them away from, and I was running after them.

PING-NG-NG! PING-NG-NG!

We shoved ourselves into the hatch, and I shut the door behind us and commanded the water to filter in, already beginning to morph as the Marco shouted the order to. My legs shriveled and disappeared beneath me. My stalk eyes disappeared. The blade of my tail disappeared, but in its place, my tail flared out vertically up and down. The water swept over us.

BA-BOOOOM!

The Dome shuddered. I felt it shake my bones. <Yeerks,> I told them, and hate filled me at the word.

BA-BOOOOM!

The exterior door opened, and I swam for the outside.

<Oh, good choice, Ax. You morphed a tiger shark?> said one voice.

<Is it wrong?> I wondered.

<Your species and ours are mortal enemies,> said the other voice.

<Oh,> I said. <I have a lot to learn about Earth.>

<Here's the first lesson: Let's get OUT OF HERE!>

We raced for the surface. A dark cylinder fell slowly from the surface behind us. <What hosts have these Yeerks used?> I demanded.

<Um, hosts? You mean bodies? Controllers? They use Hork-Bajir and humans.>

<Hork-Bajir do not swim,> I told them. <We may be safe. The Yeerks know little of deep waters. They have no oceans on their world, only shallow pools.>

<Thank god. No, all they have here are Hork-Bajir. And Taxxons, of course.>

That gave me some hesitation. <Taxxons?>

One of the grey shapes looked back at me. <Yes…>

And then there was new shadow sweeping over us. I recognized the shape. The Blade ship of Visser Three, which had destroyed our fleet. But it wasn't the ship itself that meant the most trouble for us. No…

It was dropping Taxxons into the water.

<Those nasty worms can _swim_?! >

<Tell me… l have the feeling that this body I am in might be able to fight. Is this true?>

The voice sounded amused. <Yes, Aximili. Sharks can fight.>

<Then perhaps we should deal with these Taxxon scum.>


	10. Escape from the Bay (Jake)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My name is Jake. I won’t tell you the identity I actually go by now. What I will tell you is that the world is dangerous. More than you know. In some ways, it always was, just well hidden. But there are new things, too. Fearsome things. Unimaginable things.
> 
> My friends and I are doing what we can to protect you. But I can no longer make promises.

* * *

"That is a Blade ship."

"Get down!"

"Jake, that is a _Blade ship_!"

I pulled Rachel down to the deck of the boat, against a storage chest. "Tobias? Tobias!"

"Yeah? Here." He was sitting on the goddamn railing.

"Subtlety! How many times do I have to tell you?"

Tobias rolled his eyes and reappeared laying on the deck in front of us. "What's up?"

"I need to know for absolute certain if we are being watched," I told him.

"Give me a minute." He disappeared, and I swore under my breath.

<\--ake-- --oo-->

"That's really helpful, Marco," I snarled, knowing he could hear me no better.

Tobias reappeared. "They haven't really noticed the boat because it's small and because you're not doing anything."

I jumped to my feet. "Rachel, hide your face and hair. Start steering away," I ordered as I raced up the deck to a larger chest. I pulled what I needed from it and dove into the water.

On TV, vampires always say "I don't breathe." That's not strictly true, but, then again, I don't think they're asking us. We don't  _have_  to breathe.

We'll live. No matter what, we'll live. But the biology is there. The need and desire is there. My lungs still burn. My muscles scream. My body tells me, _You have no air! You have no air! You have no motherfucking air!_

But the suffering does not lead to death. Not for me. Not anymore.

In the distance, I saw two dolphins and a shark rolling in waters boiling with Taxxon bodies. More Taxxons dropped in as the water slowly clouded with yellow gore.

I took aim. I had only one shot. I had to save it for a truly important enemy.

I was wired. I was tense. I was utterly fucking helpless to do anything that mattered.

<Aaaaarrrggghhh!>

That was Cassie.

I dropped the shaft as instinct took over and my head snapped back against my will. I was almost at the surface again when I grabbed the side of the boat and threw myself back down after it. My body didn't want to swim. It wanted to flail. It wanted to gasp. It wanted to fight. It **hurt** to make my way down after the dropped pole.

<Not so tough! Come on! Let's get out of here! The boat's just there!>

I hoped that wasn't public. I grabbed the rope to stop the fall. Please don't break. Please don't break. Please don't break and kill everyone.

BAH-LUMPH!

There was a concussion in the water just as I'd reeled the weapon back into my arms and my friends and their shark bulleted for the boat. One of them saw me. I shook my head. Air was streaming from my nose. Nothing to be done about it now.

WHUMP, WHUMP, WHUMP.

<The boats are coming this way!>

<Does anyone see the Blade ship?>

WHUMP, WHUMP, WHUMP.

<What is that?>

I had it! My legs were locking, barely movable. I gritted my teeth. Forced myself past human instinct. Forced my head forward. Forced my legs to kick. Hiked my weapon into a better position. Swerved left and right trying to see.

<It's something in the water. Big. Huge. The size of a whale, but not moving like a whale.>

WHUMP, WHUMP, WHUMP.

They reached the boat and surfaced. I continued swimming the best I could to meet them. <Aximili, there's something back there. I don't think it's from Earth.>

<Mardrut,> said a new voice. Aximili. The rescued Andalite. The shark.

<Mardrut? What does that mean?>

<A mardrut is a beast that lives in the oceans of one of our own Andalite moons. To think of that filthy Yeerk scum on our own moon! Acquiring our animals!> For fuck's sake…

<Ax, focus, man! What is a mardrut?>

<lt is a very large creature that swims by shooting water out of three large chambers. It makes a sound-->

WHUMP, WHUMP, WHUMP.

<A sound like that?>

<Yes,> Ax said. <l guess so. I did not recognize it. I have only heard it once, and that was in school, and I wasn't paying attention.>

I could see it now. Just barely ahead of me. Not quite to them yet. I swam hard, getting up under the belly of the thing. It was red, with many thrashing tails and three jets, which made it hard to maneuver close to. Luckily, it didn't see me.

The shark did, though. <Humans, is that your ally?>

<Jake, what the fuck are you doing?>

I motioned to the dolphins then to the rope. <I believe he wants you to do something with the cord going from the water vehicle to the object he's holding.>

<What object?>

I nodded.

<He is moving his head up and down. He is underneath Visser Three.>

<The fuck? Jake, we have to get _on_ the boat to… Ax, Cassie, swim around. Cassie, you're fastest. Try to demorph and get aboard. We'll defend you. >

<Can you?>

<Probably not.>

I needed leverage, and the only thing around Visser Three was Visser Three. This was quite possibly the dumbest thing I'd done in my entire life. But there was no fucking way I was going to let him find us out and eat my family.

I grabbed the nearest thrashing tail and shoved the harpoon spear as hard as I could into exposed flesh. He immediately tried to turn on me, but, luckily, Mardruts are not agile creatures. I broke the surface, puking masses of water.

I must have blacked out just a second, because suddenly it had teeth in my leg, pulling me down, under the water. I snarled and rounded back on it, tearing out chunks with my teeth until it let go. I broke the surface again, took in a new lungful of air, and swam as fast as I could, the beast on my heels. "Now!" I screamed. "The rope! Trigger!"

"What?!" Cassie screamed.

Rachel ran up next to her, hair tucked up into a wide-brimmed hat, and grabbed the rope hauling it with all her might. "Break it!" I shouted. "Break it!"

"You realize this isn't a whaling vessel?" she shouted back at me.

"Then you'll have to try very hard!" I returned. I reached the back steps of the boat, where I could see Marco on deck, hiding a demorphing Andalite under a tarp. I raced, wet feet slipping on the deck, to Rachel. I grabbed the rope and helped her haul so fast the fibers burned our hands. At last, the rope grew taut. The massive Mardrut was almost upon us. I glanced at Rachel, and we pulled as hard as we could.

Below, in the water, the pin on the harpoon snapped.

Water flew up around us, and the boat tossed, nearly capsizing. The second it was upright, we started the emergency motor to get out of there as fast as possible, dumping the rope overboard.

"Did you just blow up Visser Three?" Cassie asked as we made our get away, hiding from the view of the Controllers.

"Little bit," I admitted. "I'm glad it worked. I have no idea how old that thing was."

"You… _What_?" Rachel hit me. "You could have died!"

I snorted. "Now you know how I feel most of the time," I told her.

She didn't really have a comeback for that.

As the ships disappeared from sight, Marco approached the Andalite. "Alright, Ax-man. To get off this boat, either Cassie or me is gonna suddenly acquire a twin. Who do you like better?"

<Actually, there is a way by which I may combine your genetics… If you'll allow me?>

Marco crouched next to him, and the Andalite touched his face, seeming to concentrate very hard. Marco actually became genuinely relaxed. It was nice to see, as brief as it was.

<Now, the Cassie.>

"The?" She looked amused. "Aximili, I'm just Cassie."

<My apologies.>

Marco moved aside, and Cassie crouched next to him, undergoing the same process. The Andalite then turned his attention to me. <And you?>

"My name is Jake. And that's Rachel, steering. And, sure, let's find out the hard way." I crouched in front of him and let him put his seven-fingered hand on my face. We both waited for something to happen.

Nothing did.

He withdrew his hand. All four of his eyes were on me. He was starting to pull his hooves up under him. <What are you?>

"Dead," I said, shrugging. I pulled a pocket knife from, well, my pocket, and flipped it open. "Hard to believe I know, so let's just skip to the solid evidence, then we can move past it?" I sliced my arm open, making Cassie squeal and look away and earning a glare from Marco. I showed the wound to the Andalite. The blood welled slowly only as a product of gravity and fluidity. On any living creature, it would have been gushing. I knew it had to be the same for Andalites. Even if they didn't have hearts, there had to be some sort of circulation of materials. Trees bled more freely than this.

<What you are isn't possible.>

I laughed, tossing the knife aside and holding the wound closed. "Tell me about it."

<How is it possible?>

"Someone made a deal with the devil."

<I do not understand these words.>

Marco hit me in the shoulder. "Don't fuck around, Jake."

"What?"

"Jake!"

"What?"

He glanced between us. <So th-- So Marco is your leader, then?>

"What? No," we both said at once.

"Yes." I turned to see Rachel leaning against the steering, determinedly not looking at me as she chewed on her lip. "I mean… We haven't said, but… He should be."

"What? Why would you say that?" I demanded.

Marco rolled his eyes. "Thanks, man."

"I think… I think you would have made a really great leader…" Rachel said quietly. "Seventy years ago. I think there was a time when patriotism was your number one priority. But you've learned differently since then. Your loyalties are blood first, Animorphs second, and the world third, and don't pretend it's not true. I've seen you sacrifice for me far too many times. Let's do the right thing for once, Jake. Let's step back. Step down. Learn our new places."

My fingernails were biting into the palms of my hand. My muscles were tight and shaking. After everything today, I didn't fucking need this. I glared at Marco.

He threw up his hands. "Man, I don't even wanna be in this fight."

"Maybe that's what we need?" suggested Cassie. "A leader who hesitates? A leader who puts our ability to carry on first?"

"Great, then we can never do anything," I snorted.

"I did _this_ , didn't I?" Marco shouted defensively. "I got my life ruined trying to save your stupid fake brother in an epic failure of identity keeping, didn't I? Don't fucking tell me that I won't do shit, Jake! Because in the end, it's me and Cassie and now probably Ax that are going to end up fucking dead. God knows what will happen to Tobias. And you and Rachel will just walk out the fucking apocalypse like goddamn cockroaches! So don't _you_ tell _me_ what we're risking! Don't you tell me what we do! _This_ is why no one wants to listen to you!"

I hated him being right. "Fine. Raise your hand for Marco as leader."

Slowly, Rachel raised her hand. She was still refusing to look at me.

Cassie hesitated, then partially raised her hand shyly.

The Andalite's stalk eyes watched both of us carefully for a long minute. Then, finally, he raised his hand.

"I vote Jake," said Tobias, behind me. I don't know how long he'd been there, but I knew he disapproved of Marco's usual hesitation.

Marco's shoulders hunched as he glanced between the lot of us. "Fffuck."

And then he raised his hand.

I rolled my eyes. "Well, Fearful Leader, what's your first order?"

"Don't be a cock, Jake," he grumbled. Then, he turned to Ax. "You better morph before that helicopter comes over us."

<Yes, Prince Marco.>

Marco jumped. "What? No. No, don't do that."

<Yes, Prince Marco.>

"I'm serious!"

I laughed. "Nevermind, you can have it."


End file.
